One of the hottest issues of our age, where the Internet lets people freely voice their opinions, feelings and thoughts is gender identity. At no point during human history has been the issue so prevalent and popular to discuss. Literature always had a fascination with this subject and by extension, modern media adopted this interest as well. Gender identity is an important social issue, but in spite of this, when talking about literary works, movies or video games, the first and foremost aspect should be the characters. Regardless of their role in the story, or their overall importance, characters should be considered gender-neutral at their creation, with character traits that do not reflect a specific gender. This way, the author can focus on the important aspects, without the need to conform to a gender-stereotype. Naturally, many genres require a specific gender lineup, such as romantic movies, or a specific gender is required if it is the main focus of the story. That said, in the name of complete equality, aside from the aforementioned instances, characters should be gender-neutral in their main traits, motivations, arcs and various other aspects. One of, if not the perfect candidate to demonstrate this specific character-creation philosophy is Ellen Ripley, from the Aliens franchise, portrayed by Sigourney Weaver. To support this claim, closer inspection is needed on Alien (1979), Aliens (1986) and the cultural norms regarding gender-roles portrayed in movies preceding these films.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE STORY OF ALIEN AND ALIENS
In the far future, commercial spacecraft Nostromo is en route to Earth, with the seven-men crew in hibernation. A distress signal awakens the crew and they investigate the planet LV-426 where it came from. They unwillingly bring a creature on board and it proceeds to slaughter them one by one. In the end, the only survivor is Ellen Ripley, who manages to kill the creature and leave the ship in an escape pod before the ship itself self-destructs. Fifty-seven years after her daring escape from the alien creature, Ripley awakens from hibernation she willingly put herself in at the end of the first movie. The company employing her finds her escape pod and blames her for the prior events. Suffering from post-traumatic stress and nightmares, Ripley reluctantly agrees to assist a highly trained squad of marines on the now colonized LV-426. As it later turns out, the colony is overrun by thousands of aliens. Ripley and the squad of marines need to rescue the remaining survivors and get off the planet, before the colony reactor goes nuclear and blows up the whole settlement, along with them.
DEFYING CULTURAL NORMS I.-A: 70S HORROR MOVIES
The first Alien movie is debatably horror in genre, more specifically of the sci-fi variety. Regardless of the setting however, Alien is a slasher flick at its core on closer observation. A group of people get picked off by a killer, one by one, and it is up to the sole survivor to escape or take out the killer. In order to fully understand the importance and significance marked by the first movie, released in September 6, 1979, one needs to look at films released before, that featured main or otherwise important female characters. One of the most well-known and popular horror franchises of the 70s and 80s is the Halloween pentalogy, not counting the remakes. The first movie was released in October 25, 1978 only a year before Alien, but the production on Alien began a year before Halloween’s. The story follows a young high-school student, Laurie Strode, portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis, who is stalked by a seemingly unstoppable killer, Michael Myers, played by Nick Castle. Although Laurie fights back on occasion, her main role remains to scream, to be scared and to run away from Michael. The role cemented Curtis’ career for a time as the scream-queen of horror. No matter how one looks at the situation, Laurie is not a very complex character, and her success in surviving cannot be attributed to her own resolve. In their book titled The Art of Horror, critic John Kenneth Muir and director Wes Craven state:
“[…] female characters such as Laurie Strode survive not because of “any good planning” or their own resourcefulness, but sheer luck. Although she manages to repel the killer several times, in the end, Strode is rescued in Halloween and Halloween II only when Dr. Loomis arrives to shoot Myers”. (Kenneth, John, Muir – Craven, Wes: The Art of Horror)
Other horror movies use female characters as disposable story-starters, only there to be killed, like Jaws (1975), or damsels in distress whose only function is to be rescued like in The Exorcists (1973). The same character-creating philosophies were prevalent through the 70s and 80s, with little to no diversion from the established norms and stereotypes. The tropes carried a familiarity and unwritten convention, right until Alien was released.
DEFYING CULTURAL NORMS I.-B: HOW “ALIEN” SUBVERTS THE TROPES OF THE 70S
When Alien came out, nobody knew what to expect. Modern sci-fi horror was practically non-existent, with the 60s monster movies as the closes works to refer to. It took the world by complete surprise that Ripley was the main character with such a male-dominated cast. Even more so, since Ripley was smart and capable who could hold her own. This could have easily backfired, since Ripley could have been a way too perfect character, a so-called “Mary-Sue”, but the combined efforts of screenwriter Dan O’Bannon, director Ridley Scott and actress Sigourney Weaver made it so that Ripley was very relatable for both genders. She had a lot of flaws: she was rude, stubborn, bossy, but still managed to be likable because of her braveness and no-nonsense attitude. As film critic and president of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, John Scalzi put it:
“She’s not a sidekick, arm candy, or a damsel to be rescued. Starting with Alien, Ripley was a fully competent member of a crew or ensemble — not always liked and sometimes disrespected, but doing her job all the same. As each film progresses, she comes to the fore and faces challenges head-on — she’s the hero of the piece, in other words. […] Ripley, on the other hand, is pushy, aggressive, rude, injured, suffering from post-traumatic syndrome, not wearing makeup, tired, smart, maternal, angry, empathetic, and determined to save others, even at great cost to herself.” (Scalzi, John: “Ellen Ripley Is Clearly the Best Female Character in Scifi Film, and That’s a Problem”)
With some simple, relatable character traits, Ripley manages to completely subvert the tropes of the horror genre. She is not a super-hero, an action star, nor a screaming, helpless damsel in need of rescue. She is simply herself, trying to survive against a seemingly unstoppable creature who killed her friends and crew.
DEFYING CULTURAL NORMS II.-A:80S ACTION MOVIES
Aliens came out in 1986, in a decade where the movie-scene shifted dramatically towards action. The 80s gave birth to such action-classics as Robocop (1987), Terminator (1984), Rambo (1982), and Escape from New York (1981). The one thing that nearly every action flick in the 80s had in common was the design of the lead character. Capable, good looking, muscular men who could be a one-man army if needed to be. They were portrayed by type-cast actors like Arnold Swarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, or Sylvester Stallone. Even though many of these movies were smart with their messages and themes, the main character remained a power-fantasy for men. It was extremely uncommon for an action movie to star a believable female lead, and even when it did, it faded into obscurity, like Yes, Madam (1985). Even if the lead was characterized as her aforementioned male counterparts, like Sonja in Red Sonja (1985), portrayed by Brigitte Nielsen, she was basically an Arnold Swarzenegger clone, without her own identity. Female roles in these movies were yet again, quite stereotypical. Not only female roles suffered from these stereotypes however, but males as well. It was expected from an action-hero, to always be in control, to be an unflinching, musclebound killing machine. This left little room to proper character development and expansion beyond the typical gender-determined roles.
DEFYING CULTURAL NORMS II.-B: HOW ALIENS SUBVERTS THE TROPES OF THE 80S
Director and writer James Cameron had to keep up with the times, so a relatively slow moving horror movie like Alien was out of the question for the sequel. The movie needed to be full of action to garner a sizable viewer-base. Furthermore, it was a logical evolution for the series, in order to avoid repetition and fade into the so called “B category” of movies, like so many horror franchises before it. It would have been easy to introduce a completely new lead character to the franchise, a macho, Rambo-like killing machine. Rather than opting for the easy route, Cameron decided to pick up where the first movie ended and continue the story of Ellen Ripley. The character development went even further than in the first movie, since Ripley now suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and she needed to be fully in charge, since she was the only one who knew what she was doing. To avoid the creation of a character that did not resemble the first movie’s Ripley, Cameron, with the input of Weaver made sure that she was still flawed and human. For example, Ripley in the beginning is extremely distrustful of Bishop (Lance Hanriksen) the android, since in the previous movie, another android, Ash (Ian Holm) betrayed her and caused the death of numerous crew members. In a 2009 interview given to American Film Institute, Sigourney Weaver said: “…she didn’t whine, she didn’t complain, she just did her job…” (Weaver, Sigourney, American Film Institute interview). This is in stark contrast with the behavior of Hudson, one of the marines, portrayed by Bill Paxton. When things get dire, his initial confident attitude switches and he becomes nervous and prone to panic. Almost all of the marines exhibit this to some degree, but Hudson is the best example. Another noteworthy character is Vasquez, played by Jenette Goldstein. In any other film, he would be played by a male actor. Muscular, with a love for big guns, and a smart mouth. Interestingly enough, her character still reinforces the stereotypical nature of the marines and supports the gender-neutral nature of the lead, since her simplistic, macho design is in such a contrast with the complexity of Ripley.
RIPLEY AS A FEMINIST ICON?
Examining the subject of Ripley’s gender-neutrality, one cannot turn a blind eye to a subject that inevitably came up with the popularity of the character: feminism. Predictably, over the years, Ripley, and by extension, Sigourney Weaver became a feminist icon. As numerous feminists explained, Ripley is the quintessential female hero in modern cinema. Strong, capable, heroic and independent. These are all very good and valid points, but more often than not, they forget to list all the negative traits Ripley has. They try to make her seem like a woman who can handle herself without a man, who works more on emotion and instinct rather than on logic or calculated intellect, which may be true to some extent but in reality, this is a misguided oversimplification of her character. In a popular article on “Little White Lies”, blogger Lara Cory writes:
“From the start, Weaver intended to play the role of Ripley with a matter-of-factness. She felt that Ripley’s beliefs were rattled when, as she put it, “she suddenly has to work on instinct and emotion rather than intellect.” This is what makes the character such a enduring feminist icon: Ripley isn’t tough like a man, she’s tough like a woman.”. (Corey, Lara: “Aliens at 30 – in praise of James Cameron’s feminist masterpiece”)
This statement may hold some water at first glance, but upon on closer inspection, even implying that emotion is an inherently feminine attribute, while intellect is a male one is an insult to both genders. She also neglects to mention all the times Ripley needs to assess the situation and decide her next step using critical thinking. A great example for this is when in Alien, Ripley urges her colleagues on the Nostromo not to take the infected Kane (John Hurt) back on board, in fear that he might infect the rest of the crew. The reality is that Ripley could easily be a male character and if Aliens was a book and it somehow it averted gender pronouns, nobody would be able to tell that she is a woman and it would not even matter from the perspective of the story. That is one thing that makes the character brilliant: her gender simply does not matter in the grand scheme, because it adds nothing to the story or to her relation with the other characters. Sure, there is an undeniable sexual tension between her and Hicks (Michael Biehn), but it is arguably a very negligible and minor part of Aliens. Furthermore, feminist critics never mention her relation with Hicks, because it would undermine their argument for Ripley’s complete independence.
CONCLUSION
Ripley is undeniably a brilliant character, but this has little to do with her gender. Even her name could be considered gender-neutral, because Ellen sounds very much like Allan, almost a homophone. Even this little detail just goes to show how much thought was put in the character when Dan O’Bannon and Ridley Scott created her. From the start, she is extremely well written, well rounded and relatable. She is full of believable flaws, like any other human being in reality, but she is also likable and one can easily feel the need to route for her. People want her to succeed, to survive, to reach her goals. Viewers also can relate to her pain, her sadness, her loss and her desire to overcome the dangerous situations she has to face. She is fundamentally human, an everyman, rather than an empty headed but pretty scream-queen, or an emotionless, macho action hero. Everyone can relate to her, man and woman alike and it matters little that she in fact is a woman. This is because she was written as a well-developed character first, and a woman second. Everything about Ripley is more important than her gender and she is the textbook example of a gender-neutral character.
Works Cited
Cameron, John: Aliens, 20th Century Fox, July 18, 1986
Carpenter, John: Halloween, Compass International Pictures, October 25, 1978
Cory, Lara: “Aliens at 30 – in praise of James Cameron’s feminist masterpiece” http://lwlies.com/articles/aliens-sigourney-weaver-feminst-masterpiece/ , Jul 17, 2016
Kenneth, John, Muir – Craven, Wes: The Art of Horror (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, 1998), p. 104, ISBN 0-7864-1923-7.
Scazli, Johm: “Ellen Ripley Is Clearly the Best Female Character in Scifi Film, and That’s a Problem”., http://www.amc.com/talk/2011/09/ellen-ripley-is , 2011
Scott, Ridley: Alien, 20th Century Fox, May 25, 1979
Weaver, Sigourney, American Film Institute, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zev0m1Gmw0g
August 24, 2009
Kommentek